Salt Lake City housing plan includes 10K new units within five years
Jun 8, 2023, 1:35 PM
New data suggests that Utah's housing market is about to become a lot more renter-friendly. Housing construction and other construction in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City leaders have drafted a five-year housing plan to build 10,000 new housing units by the end of 2027. The Housing SLC 2023-2027 plan includes four thousand units that would be subsidized for moderate and lower-income families.
In its executive summary, the City said the new plan updates a previous housing growth plan and makes changes that reflect differing needs in the city in 2023 and going forward. The report shows that creating more affordable housing within the city is of particular importance to city leaders.
What the city learned before creating new Salt Lake City housing plan
Salt Lake officials said that after speaking with residents throughout 2022, they confirmed, among other things, that:
- rent has risen dramatically,
- there is a shortage of affordable housing,
- the types of homes being built and those that are needed don’t jibe,
- (also not jibing, the cost of living and wages,)
- more people are renters in SLC than are home buyers,
- and city residents prefer affordable housing and mental health services over additional emergency shelters for those experiencing homelessness.
Based on these findings, the new report sets several goals, including creating 10,000 new housing units across the city (including 4,000 units considered affordable or deeply affordable.
The city would also like to increase housing stability by paying more attention to factors that impact stability (housing costs, legislation, funding possibilities, transferring development rights, land use rights, and tenant education/assistance.)
The third goal is to provide more opportunities for home ownership to at least 1,000 low-income households. The idea is to create more wealth- and equity-building opportunities to this population.
The Salt Lake City Council is expected to vote on the housing plan this month.
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